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Chapter Five

Ember raced farther through the woods, now ahead of Peril, and still behind and below Fawn. She was still jumping and bolting through the tree limbs, as fast as could be. Ember panted as he kept running, slowly gaining on Fawn's tail. He thought about jumping up and snatching the ball from her, but didn't want her to end up like Glory. He'd already stopped once and didn't want to do it again.

They had all ran at least five miles by now and were getting very close to the mountains. Peril heaved in huge breaths from behind and Ember was starting to feel sorry for her. But when he forgot about it a second later, he heard a snapping sound and watched as Peril fell to the ground behind him and struggled to escape one of her net traps. Ember thought about stopping again but he couldn't delay his time anymore or Fawn would win.

He gave Peril an apologetic glance before speeding forward again. He picked up his pace and dashed at a full sprint after Fawn, all the while avoiding and leaping over fallen twigs and loose branches in his path. When he looked from her and down ahead, he saw the upcoming shift from the forest biome that now ended at the base of the mountains. He narrowed his eyes and breathed as best as he could, trying to stay in tact for when his confrontation with Fawn. As nice and motherly she could be, she also got really serious and vigilant during a battle. He needed to be careful.

He braced himself for the base of the mountain that was just ten yards away, and he looked up toward Fawn, who still had the ball and now she leapt up from her tree branches and dropped down to the stoned surface. The first step was tricky, since it was steep and spiky. She pushed forward and kept climbing, groaning slightly with each step. Ember halted just where the grass met the rocks, and he watched her as she got higher by the second. He took this time to inhale a little before he lifted his arm up to grab onto a climbing hole that would support his weight.

He took a deep breath before he began the wide climb, he put his right foot up first, then his left, then he stuck his left hand up near his right, and he kept climbing. He wasn't eve anywhere near the top, yet he was already out of breath, not just from the tiny climb he started, but also from the ten mile sprint he just embarked in. He looked up and saw Fawn maybe ten yards up, still climbing with one arm gripping the mountain, and the other holding the ball.

Ember sighed in frustration and began climbing slowly again. He put one hand up, then two feet, then his next hand. Over and over again until he started getting more and more tired. But as he climbed higher and higher, he not only saw the small ledge that they would fight on, but he also never wanted to look down. He knew he would pass out immediately from his huge fear of heights. He was petrified of heights, and this certainly didn't help. When he started to feel the oxygen he inhaled start to wear thin, he shook his head free of dizziness and started swallowing air as he climbed higher.

Unfortunately, the snow on the mountains didn't thaw out like it had down below, and even with his constant heated temperature, Ember still felt the cold seeping into his clothes and threatening to make him go numb. He pressed on after Fawn, who was now only a few yards ahead, and she found enough ground debris to grip onto and sway up onto the big ledge. She disappeared from view, and Ember let his head fall down in exhaustion. He held on tight and grunted as he pushed on, using his muscles to help him with reaching the top. His fingers were numb, and he didn't know just how long he could hold on.

Three yards left . . .

Two yards . . .

One yard . . .

When he finally got ready to launch up to the ledge, he swayed a little to better himself, but in doing so, his hand slipped from the rocks and he was dangling down from the middle of the mountain, staring straight down below toward the ground. He screamed as he saw how high he was--probably hundreds of feet up--and he brought his loose hand up to grip the mountain again. Even when his hands were still numb, he impossibly kept his grip well enough to sway up to the ledge, and he landed on his side. He grunted and held his arms and hands to his chest, hoping to warm them up.